Happy new year!
In last news of last year Meteor 1.8.3 has been released. Meteor 1.8.3 is a quick release focused on updating node version to the newest version (v8.17) based on security releases earlier this month. In addition you will also see an update to jQuery package that will encourage you to use the npm version, this is especially important for those who use Blaze as it will prevent duplicate jQuery from Meteor if you have another one from npm.
Starting the year with a bang, Meteor 1.9 is also finally out! This is a major release most notable for upgrade to Node.js 12 (v12.14) which should among other benefits see speed improvements due to V8 engine. This is in addition to other small speed improvements that the team has worked on for this release.